This was written for a Roleplay Storyline Event on IG. The storyline event was called Moral Distortion. We had to rewrite our characters storyline to fit the rules of an alternate universe. All heroes are villains. All villains are heroes.
Warning: dark!Bruce, violence, incestual situations, and kidnapping. First person will always be Jennifer, I would like to rewrite this completely in third person some time in the future. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas, Marvel does.
Darkness fills my vision. Even though my teary brown eyes are wide and searching there is nothing but pure black. With every frenzied exhale the darkness becomes more overpowering and suffocating. A steady stream of warm liquid slithers lazily down the side of my face as I struggle to be freed from my prison. Unconsciously a frightened wail escapes my mouth as I cannot move my arms and legs.
"Shhh dear Jen. It's alright, you're safe with me. Shhhh"
I violently jerk back from the voice's tender touch on the side of my exposed neck. I whimper as a pair of warm, chapped, lips replace the probing fingers. No. God please no.
"My beautiful, naive, little Jen. You have nothing to be afraid of. You will be magnificent." Through cracked lips and a parched throat I speak for the first time in what seems like an eternity.
"Please Bruce, please just let me go..."
GHGHGHGHGH
"Dr. Banner, we have the all clear to begin the presentation."
"Very good Dr. Ross. Set countdown to two minutes and send out the call for the clearing of the area." Dr. Bruce Banner smiled shyly at the beautiful woman behind the blast glass, her answering smile is radiant and bright.
Bruce doesn't know when exactly he found himself infatuated with Betty Ross, all he knows is that he has fallen hard and fast for her. Prickling on the back of his neck alerts him to a pair of glowering eyes focused on him. Looking as subtly as he can over his shoulder General Ross stands behind blast glass in a room filled with scientists and military officials. A hard glare twists his severe features. General Ross of course is a problem, he dislikes the idea of his only child associating with some weakling of a man. Bruce can only turn back to the readings with a small sneer on his normally gentle features. General Ross has been nothing but hostile to Bruce since he arrived to the Desert Base. Ross oversees the whole military base. The meek scientist really didn't have to do anything but exist for Ross to dislike him. Especially when he caught wind of Bruce and his precious daughter Betty's mutual interest. Now plain ire has turned to outright hatred.
Bruce checks over the readings on the Gamma Bomb one last time. He then looks to Betty for confirmation and she answers with a curt nod. He looks to the timer towards the top of the large, circular room he and the bomb are in.
1 minutes and 27 seconds.
It's time to go.
Years of research, of ridicule and wasted opportunity. Doctor Bruce Banner has waited for this for what seems like a lifetime. The fruit of his labors, it's finally ready. With one last wistful smile Bruce turns to enter the bunker when Betty's horrified face through the glass stops him in his tracks.
"BRUCE RUN!"
As he opens his mouth to speak a strong force at his back sends him flying across the room to slam painfully against the wall. He feels his body jolt and shiver as waves upon waves of gamma flow over him, blanketing him in its burning heat.
"Bruce! Bruce!"
GHGHGHGHGH
"Bruce please! W-w-why are you doing this?!" I can taste the salt of my tears on my tongue as I continue to plead helplessly. But it's of no use. He will not listen. I honestly had not been expecting my dear cousin to show up on the doorstep of my office. It was so random, I should have known. But I had been too overjoyed to see him. My doc. We had talked for what seemed like forever and I had invited him back to my apartment. That had been a mistake. I was hit over the head and dragged to my car. Then he just drove and drove. That was about a week ago now.
A calloused hand caresses my fevered skin, I flinch back. Then suddenly the cloth bag that covered my head is ripped away. I scrunch my eyes closed, tears slip out of the tightly closed lids. The light above my sprawled form is bright and my eyes have not yet adjusted to the new lighting. A hand grabs my chin to pull my face toward them, the other hand's thumb wipes away my tears.
"My dear Jennifer. You can open your eyes now…"
Though I don't want to face this…nightmare, his voice gives me hope that my doc is back. With a quick flutter of my lashes my eyes open to see Bruce bent over me, a small, gentle smile on his face. I let out a gasping exhale of relief but then. His eyes. They're no longer the warm brown I remember. They're hard, cold and crazed. I swiftly look down at my arms and I find them strapped along with my feet to the metal examining table I lay upon. I begin to struggle.
"No no no no. Bruce what are you doing!?"
GHGHGHGHGH
"What are you doing to me?!" Betty's back arches off the wall, a frightened glint in her eye. Bruce can only smile gently at her bucking form. She will understand soon enough. This has to happen. Closing the space between them Bruce cradles her heart-shaped face in his hands, she immediately lashes out at him like a rabid animal. Teeth gnashing and biting.
"No listen to me Betty, everything is going to be alright. I'm making you better, so we can be together." Her glistening blue eyes widen and a disgusted sneer makes its way onto her face.
"My father was right! You're crazy! Absolutely mad!" His faces darkens, his hands fall away from her face. A sharp crack is heard as Betty's head snaps violently to the side. He grabs her chin roughly,
"Do not EVER mention that good for nothing SON OF A BITCH." Spittle flies from his raging mouth landing on Betty's flushed cheeks. She turns her face away from the man, a distressed sob escapes her throat. Instantly the man's anger fades away as he holds her face ever so gently.
"No Betty, shh. You're all right. You have to understand that I'm doing this for us! So we can be together. Forever."
GHGHGHGHGH
"Where are we Bruce?! Why did you bring me here?!"
From what I can see from my vantage-point we're in some kind of make-shift lab. It's dark; the only light is the flickering one above the table that I'm sprawled on. Machines whir all around me to create a distinct hum that only serves to fuel my fear. Bruce smiles mockingly at me, as if he was dealing with a babbling five year-old child. He leisurely strolls away from my side, hands behind his back and interlocked. He turns to one of the large screens in the room, checking over readings of some kind. After a tense silence he finally speaks.
"Jennifer. Did you know that I was in an accident earlier this year?"
GHGHGHGHGH
"BRUCE! OH GOD, BRUCE! NO LET ME GO!" General Ross holds onto his hysterical daughter, preventing her from following the gurney that carries Doctor Banner's body. He snarled softly at the thought of his daughter being so distressed over the likes of someone like Banner. The bomb went off. Earlier than it should have, it must have malfunctioned. Figures, just like that bastard Banner to eff something up that cost the military thousands of dollars. Then again Ross is almost glad it didn't work. Science and experiments do not win wars, men do.
The floor begins to shake as Betty finally quiets. Softly at first, then the whole world seems to rock and shake. Ross pulls his daughter close to his side as he barks to a passing nurse asking just what in the hell is going on? Wide eyed the nurse can only mutely shake her head in disbelief. That's when they hear it. An earth-shattering, almighty roar.
GHGHGHGHGH
"I had been working on the thing that was going to make my name legend. The Gamma Bomb. My life's work. A bomb that when set off, waves of gamma radiation engulf anything and everything in range. Extremely deadly." Bruce drawls as he takes a worn rag to clean various sized needles.
"When I finally had something to show them, those who doubted me. Laughed at me." He snarls violently. "The bomb went off early, and I was in range. No one knows why, but it does not matter." Bruce spins on his heel, a wide grin on his face. I shudder. "That much gamma exposure should have killed me, fried my insides to ash before I could even take another breath. Instead it decided to remake me." He spreads his arms wide the grin still in place. Suddenly at my side again in leans toward me excitedly, his voice low and jittery.
"I have never felt more alive than I do now. My mind-"he taps his temple with a finger "-is filled with ideas, formulas, experiments that I could never have even DREAMED of. He speaks to me Jen, whispers in my ear. Teaching me, guiding me." A loud bark of a laugh escapes his mouth as he whirls away from my shocked form, he claps his hands together. Low chuckles continue to stream out of his mouth. I shouldn't entertain this, I should stay silent but my damned curiosity wins over.
"Who Bruce? Who's talking to you?" His back straightens and his chuckles silence. For a moment I believe he's not going to answer. He turns to glance at me over his shoulder and I can swear bright green has replaced the dark brown of his eyes.
"The Hulk."
GHGHGHGHGH
"You don't know what you're doing! You're confused Bruce, we can't be together. Not like this. I-I-I'll die!" He only shakes his head fondly, leaning forward he places a soft, lingering kiss on her full pink lips. A thumb brushes across her brow.
"He told me that if I do this, we'll be together. I have to listen. I have to!" With that he turns his back on her, striding back into the bunker and out of the circle room. It's only occupants, Betty Ross and the gamma bomb. She screams long and loud, even though her wrists and ankles tightly bound to the wall she still struggles. Tries to get away.
"Bruce please listen to me! Bruce! BRUCE! BRU-"
BOOM
"BRUUUUUUCE!"
Green vapor engulfs the room, swirling and twisting. Bruce drums his fingers on the desk before him in anticipation. Waiting and listening for the tell-tale sound of a newborn roar.
It never comes.
And it never will.
With a furrowed brow Dr. Banner hurridly opens the heavily locked door, sprinting into the test room.
"Betty! Betty! I told you everything was going to be alright." The vapor parts to make a path toward her, her body is slumped down in bonds. Her chin rests on her chest. Unmoving. Rushing toward her he lifts her face towards his.
"Betty? Betty!?" Her eyes are wide and unseeing, the white of her eyes stained a horrid green. Dark green muck leaks from the corners of her eyes, mouth, and nose mixing with her thick, rapidly cooling, blood.
"No, no no no NO! BETTY WAKE UP! NO NO NO!" He falls to his knees an anguished howl escaping his lips. His fists pound the floor and his body curls in on itself.
"It was supposed to work, I did everything right. YOU SAID IT WOULD WORK." Clawing at his temples Bruce staggers to his feet.
"YOU LIED TO ME! YOU TOLD ME SHE WOULD LIVE! YOU LIED! YOU LIED! YOU-" an overwhelmingly loud roar cuts off the crazed doctor's yells, green floods his vision and his body begins to enlarge.
GHGHGHGHGH
"I have tried and failed to recreate what I have become. I tried simulating the accident right down to the last detail, I even gave my own infected blood. But the subjects could not receive the gift of life." Bruce calmly explains as he places cold markers on my temples, I let out a soft whine. "Shh no none of that now. Anyhow, Hulk suggested to me that maybe instead of a random person off the street, what if a blood relative of mine could hold the same power that I have been blessed-"I yelp as he disinfects an area on the crook of my elbow. "-with."
He looks down at me almost lovingly but it's tainted, dark and cruel. His lips lift upwards. "I have decided to pass this gift onto you my sweet Jennifer. We can be together. Forever" and then his lips are on mine, a strong hand tangles into my hair before I can even begin to shake him off. Tears stream anew down my face, and I go limp. I accept it. I can't get away. No matter how much I plead, beg, cry, and rage. He will never let me go.
Finally he pulls away from me, a dazed smile on his face as he slowly extracts his hand from my tangled dark brown locks.
"Now let's begin." He picks up a short, squat needle that's connected to a bag of dark red liquid that rests on the small table beside the examining table. His blood. I shake my head franticly, sobs wrenching from my throat. He ignores me in favor of carefully sliding the needle through my skin and into my vein. Warmth enters my arm and all I can do is cry. This is happening. I'm going to die.
When the bag is little more than half way empty Bruce slides the needle out of my skin. A small bead of our joined blood surfaces at the puncture hole. I can taste bile at the back of my mouth. Bruce ambles back over to his desk and begins messing with a machine that is set atop it. I gulp.
"I-I-is that it?" I can't help but hesitantly ask, Bruce only shakes his head.
"No. We still need to wake you up." I open my mouth to ask just what in the hell he's talking about when waves and waves of agonizing electricity flow from the markers at my temples and into my very soul. I howl in terror and pain, my eyes closed and leaking. I convulse uncontrollably as the electricity flows over me steadily, horridly. I should be nothing by now, my mind, body, and soul feel charred. Burned away to ash. God I had wanted to DO something worthwhile with my life. I wanted to save people, I wanted to help people! What had I ever done to deserve this?
My vision turns to black when something snaps inside me. At the corners of my sight, green begins to spread. Hot, burning, rage springs to the back of my throat. I bellow out an un-godly animalistic roar. I feel the bindings on my wrists begin to give away as my body swells and pulses. I can't breathe. I can't see. I can't stop. I'm just. so. ANGRY.
Then the green haze takes over, takes control. And there is nothing I can do to stop it.
With one last roar everything falls silent and still. And I open my eyes. There he is. He's grinning ear to ear, laughing manically as he rushes toward me.
"It worked! Oh hell it worked-"a large meaty hand grabs him by the throat. The doctor is left to gag and struggle as he is lifted off his feet. At the mercy of his own creation. Warm breath is huffed in his face as he brought face to face with his monster. The She-Hulk. Her face is grotesquely ugly, pinched with overwhelming rage. Doctor Bruce Banner can only gape as the 7 foot tall deformed, green woman opens her mouth.
"SMASH!" And Bruce's world fades away as he's tossed away like a rag-doll, his head crashes into the metal of his desk. So sudden this is the green haze has no time to take over his vision. He is only left to watch as his creation is lost in her rage. Mindless. Senseless. No control. A monster.
Jennifer Walters, the aspiring defense attorney with so much going for her, is no more. In her place is the monster that is known as the She-Hulk. Every time she turns Jennifer is a prisoner in her own mind, to watch as her other self rampages. Destroys. Kills. And yet there is something deep inside her that is not tainted by her other self that enjoys it. Jennifer Walter's heart has hardened and cracked. And really she is just as deadly in her human form as she is as the She-Hulk. Cold, calculating. Unfeeling.
Yes, Jennifer Walters is no more